Heavier than air airship



Dec. 1, 1931. E. W. PASLAK ET AL HEAVIER-THAN-AIR AIRSHIP Filed Sept.29, +930 3 Sheets-Sheet l ud w \L mm 1 1 MMIII N mw W11 N Q ,N f@ A, w Zwww. 1 l h www @l @l ww s@ h.

Dec. l, 1931. E. w. PASLAK ET AL HEAVIER-THAN-ALR AIRSHIP 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed sept. 29. 1930 mi 2% fmzm,

W7e o uZZena/Me.

atta/nu! De l, 1931. E. w. PAsLAK ET AL v 1,834,417

HEAVIER-THAN-AIR AIRSHIP Filed sept. 29, 1930 s sheets-Sheet' 5 abkommenPatented Dec. 1,1931 l i I l Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EMIL W.PASLAX AN D 'VINE L. MULLENDORE, 0F DENVER, COLORADO; SAID MULLENDOREASSIGNOR OF ONE-SIXTH T SAID PASLAK HEAVIER THAN AIB AIBSHIP Applicationled September 29,'1930. Serial No.A 485,076.

This invention relates to improvements in Fig. 7 is a view .showing amodified form airships of the heavier than air type and has of elevatingpropeller; reference more particularly to an airship that F1g. 8- 1s aview partly 1n sectlon showlng is especially well adapted for use overwater a portion. of the framework and 5 and which is so designed andconstructed Fig. 91s a. v1ew taken on l1ne 9 9, Fig. 8. 55

that it can readily depart from and land on This airship is formed frommetal or other the surface of the water and which can also suitablematerial and is provided with a float on the water for an indenitelength frame consisting of a.- number of hollow pipes of time, even whenthe water is quite rough which have' been designated by reference 1o andwhich is therefore especially well adapted numeral 1. Since thisinvention is. not di- 6o for transoceanic travel. rectedf-to the specicframe construction, the

It is an object of this invention to produce several parts of the framewill not be idenan airship of the type referred to that shall tlfied bynumerals, but only such portions of be provided with a novelform of.elevatlng the frame as requirespecial mention in order propellers whichexert a substantially verto 'properly explaln the invention. The 6lltical lift and by means of which it is possible frame 1s covered bymeans of sheets 2 of to rise substantially vertically and also toduraluminum or other light tough material. descend vertically and toremain suspended The fuselage is made watertight and has a withoutmovement relative to the surface of bottom 3 and upwardly extendingsides'4 and the ground. A 5. The top of the sides4 and 5 extend out- 70Another object of this invention is to prowardly. as indicated byreference numeral 6 duce an airship of the type referred to which so asto form a recess or compartment 7 on shall be provided with a pneumaticmeans each side of .the fuselage. Located a short for assisting inelevating and propelling the distance above the bottom 3 is a deck v8that ship in addition to the elevatingand the trac-l forms with thebottom a compartment 9 that l5 tion propellers. is watertight and whichcan be used for the The above and other objects that may be.- storage ofwater or for the storage of other come apparent as this descriptionproceeds material which then serves as ballast. The are attained by.means of a construction and deck 8 forms the floor of the engine rooman arrangement of parts which will now be ,within which are .located theseveral engines 80 described in detail and for this purpose refand theair compressor used in connection erence will be had to the accompanyingdrawwith this airship. More particular reference ings in which thepreferred embodiment of will be made tothe engines and` to the nietheinvention has been illustrated and in ehanical equipment as thedescription prowhich: l ceedsl Located above the engine room is 85 Fig.1 is a section taken 0n line 1 1, Fig. a deck 10 that forms the maindeck of the 1 2. and shows the Jfuselage in side elevation, airship andwhich lies in the Samaplane as while the wing and some of the compartthehorizontal' plate 6 and therefore the ments are shown in section;plates'10 and 6 form in effect a single deck` 40 Fig.2isasection taken.online 2 2, Fig.1; as shown in Fig. 2. The deck 8 rests on 90 Fig. 3 isa section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 2'; transversely extending framemembers 11 Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4. Fig. 3, and that projectoutwardly to the sides 0f the shows the means for controlling theelevating fuselage and have their endsl secu'red to the rudder; 1'vertical frame members 12 whose upper ends Fig. 5 is atop view of theair-ship, portions connect with the horizontal frame members 95 beingbroken away to better show the con'- 13, as shown in Fig. 2. The framemembers struction; 13 extend transversely beyond the vertical Fig. 6 isa section taken on line 6 6, Fig. members 12 and diagonal frame-members14 l, and shows a portion of the means for conf extend from the outerends of frame memtrolling the horizontal steering devices; bers 11 tothe outer ends of frame members 13, thereby producing triangularopenings Within whichare located ioats 15. The inner vertical walls ofthese floats are spaced from the walls of the fuselage so as toform withthe latter the recesses or compartments 7 within which are located theelevating propellers 16. When the oatsare in position, recesses 7 areclosed on the two sides and the top and are open at the bottom. The endsof the frames surrounding the recesses 7 are connected by diagonal framemembers 17 that are provided with bearings 18 at their points ofintersection and in these bearings the axles 19 of the elevatingpropellers are journalled. The elevating propellers are formed byelongated blades that extend equal distances on opposite sides of theaxis of rotation. The rear ends of axles 19'are provided with bevelgears 20 and a shaft 21 extends transversely of the airship and isprovided with bevel gears 22 that mesh with the gears 20 in the mannershown quite clearly in Fig. 3. An internal combustion engine 23 isprovided for rotating the elevating propellers and the drive shaft ofthis engine has a bevel gear 24 that cooperates with a bevel gear 25 onshaft. 21. When the engine is running, the two elevating propellers willbe rotated simultaneously and at equal speeds and in the directionindicated byarrows in Fig. 2, from which it will be seen that the`propellers rotate in opposite directions, and

that the blades travel downwardly on the sides adjacent the verticalwalls of the fuselage. The action of these propellers is such that whenthey are turning at a high speed, a strong blast of air will be producedwhich passes downwardly along -the walls of the fuselage and thereaction thus produced serves to lift the airship from the water or'from the ground. Plates 26 are provided at the front ends of therecessesl 7 vadjacent the fuselage and serve to form with the walls 4and 5 an angle that directs the air currents from nozzles 27 which willbe hereinafter referred to. In Fig. 7 We have shown a slightly modlfiedform of elevating propeller in which the blades are helicaland which,therefore, in addition to producing a lifting force also tends to movethe ship forwardly. When the ship is resting on the surface of thewater, the elevating propellers serve to move the ship forwardly like anordinary screw propeller, so that the ship can travel on the water at ahigh rate of speed. In takingof from the surface of the water, it is, ofcourse, not Iessential that the ship shall rise vertically, as there isusually plenty of room to take off and to lan ln addition to theelevating propellers, the ship is provided with two or more tractionpropellers 28 that are located one on each side of the fuselage as shownin Fig. 3. Where three propellers are used, the other propeller may belocated at the prow 29 of the ship, or at any other suitable place. Forthe pTirpose of operating the traction propellers, an internalcombustion engine 30 has been shown. The front end of the` drive shaftof this engine is journalled in a bearing 31 secured to the framemembers 32 in the same manner in which the drive shaft of engine 23isjournalled. Engines 23 and 30 are both provided with transmissionhousings 33 in which transmission gears for the change of speed are l0-cated. .These gears are shlfted in the usual way by means of levers 34.Power may be transmitted from engine 30 to the traction propellers byany suitable means, but in the drawingssprocket chains 35 have beenshown. These sprocket chains connect sprocket wheels located on thedrive shaft of the engineY and on the propeller shafts 36. Thepropellers are journalled in bearings 37 supported by the frame members38. In rising from the water, the traction propellers are depended on t0give the ship the necessary forward speed and when the elevatingpropellers are made in accordance with Fig. 7, they also move the shipforwardly and with the combined action of the two sets of propellers theship soon attains the speed necessary to rise from the water surface.Secured to the top of the ship and extending transversely thereof, is awing 39 which is of the usual construction, and which serves to maintainthe ship suspended when in motion.

The fuselage extends rearwardly and tapers to a point 40 and is providedat its rear end with an elevating rudder 41. By referring to Fig. 4 itwill be seen that the elevating rudder is secured to a rearwardlyextending arm 42 that is pivoted to a horizontal axis 43. The armextends forwardly of the pivot pin as shown at 44. Slidably secured tothe front end of part 44 is a sleeve 45. Springs 4G are secured to thetop and bottom of the sleeve 45 and are so tensioned that they normallyhold the rudder in neutral position. Extending from the top to thebottom of the fuselageV are two or more bars 47 between which ispivotally mounted a bell crank lever. This lever has arms 48 and 49 andis pivoted so as to move about the axis of pin 50. The rear end of arm48 is pivotally connected to the front end of sleeve 45 by means of apin 51, and the free end of arm 49 has secured to it a connecting rod 52that extends forwardly and is pivotally connected at 53 to the lower endof a control lever 54. This lever is pivoted at 55 and cooperates With aquadrant 56 that is provided with teeth and the lever is also providedwith means for engaging the teeth so that it will be held in any desiredadjusted position. Although a connecting rod 52 has been shown, this ismerely illustrative, as it is possible to substitute for the bell cranklever a T-shaped lever and to use two steel cables instead of thecgpnecting rod if this should be found desira e.

For the purpose of determining the Vhorizontal direction of flight andturning towards the right or the left, the ends of the wing have beenprovided with plates 57 that are pivoted so that they. can rotate aboutaxes 58 and which are normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 bymeans of springs 59. The rods 58 that form the axes about which theplates 57 rotates extend toward the center of the airship and terminatein cranksGO. The inner ends of rods 58 are journalled in bearings 61.Connected with the ends of cranks openings in guide member 63 and havetheir free ends provided with inwardly extending hooks 64, as shown inFig. 6. A control lever 65 is pivoted at 66 and has its upper endextending into the space between the two links 62. The lower end oflever 65 terminates in front of the pilot so that it can be readilygrasped by him :when necessary.v Lever 65 can be moved so as to engageeither one of the links'62 and when the lower end of this lever is movedrearwardly, the plate secured to the rod 58 with which the upper end ofthis lever is connected will be turned downwardly into the dotted lineposition shownin Fig. 2. When plate 57 is in the downward- 'ly extendingposition, it produces a 'large amount of friction .or resistance whichacts as a drag on the end of the wing and causes the ship to turn in thedirection of the plate n that is in operative position;, 'lhe extent ofthe inclination of plate 57 determines the amount of resistance that itexerts and this in turn determines the radius of the arc about' whichthe ship turns. When a very sharp turn is to be made, plate 57 is moveddownwardly into a position at right angles to the direction of flight,in which position it exerts its greatest force.

Mention has already been made of the fact that the frame is made oftubes which serve as .reservoirs for air storage. The several members ofthe frame are interconnected so that the entire frame has anintercommunieating chamber and this chamber is made airtight and sincethe frame members are quite large in diameter and have a largecombinedlength, the air storage space has a large volume or capacity.Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that there has been provided aninternal combustion engine 67 that is coupled to an air compressor 68.This air compressor is connected with the interior of the frame membersby means of a pipe G9 that 60 are links 62 that extend through theyships of'ordinary construction.

outside of .the frame members with which they are connected and kwillfinally leave through the openings in pipe 72. By passing the exhaustgas in the manner suggested,the air within the frame members willbeheated .w and this in turn will heat the interior of the," ship so asto maintain a comfortable tempera-rt ture at all times. l

At the front of the ship, nozzles 73 are provided and controlled byvalves74. When u these valves are open, a blast of air will strike thefront of plate 26 andv exert a retarding force. Other nozzles such asthose indicated by reference numeral 27 extend downwardly in the anglebetween plates"26 and 'the sides s@ of the fuselage and when valves 75are open, a' strong blast of air is directed,Y downwardly which producesa lifting force, as already been mentioned.

rlhe space directly above deck 1 can be 35 utilized for the convenienceof the passengers and also for the pilot who is preferably seated inacompartment at the front and has within easy reach all the differentcontrol levers. The dierent instruments and controls have not been shownbecause such details wouldunduly complicate thedrawings. On each side ofthe deck 10 vertical walls ,or partitions 76 are provided which formouter compartments like .those indicated by reference numerals 77 95which form the state rooms for thepassengers. Each state room isprovided with a berth 78. The outer walls may have large transparentglass portions 79 and this glass may be made from non-sl1atter glass, soas to minimize the 10b ldangers of injury in case of accident.

Fromr the above description, it will be seen that the airship'thatforms'the subject matter of this invention is so constructed that itwill lioat on the surface of water due to the fact 1m, that the fuselageis watertight and due to the further fact that the floats 15 have beenpro-V vided on opposite sides of the fuselage. l

- Particular attention is called to the compartments or recesses 7 andto the elevating 11'`4 propellers located Within these recesses, as thisis believed to be a novel construction and results in a device that .canascend vertically and by providing the airship with the ordinary wheelsfor landing and taking oli' fron 11il the ground, it is possible bymeans of this construction to depart from and land on 'the top of abuilding or in an open space much too small for either landing ordepartinr of airy vWlie're the 121 airship is designed for use overwater only, the elevating propellers can be constructed as shown in Flg.7 in which ease they serve to give longitudinal movement to the ship andto assist the traction propellers in obtaining the speed necessary tomake the ship rise from -Y the water.

ln case of serious damage to the apparatus, the ship can be floated withsafety, dueto the great stability given it by the ioats 15. It is alsopossible in case of extreme necessity to remove the wing in which casethe remaining part of the airship would be able to weather very roughseas, but as this feature has not A been claimed it has not beenillustratedand described in detail.

IThe fact that the frame members are hol llow and can be used as storagecontainers for compressed air makes it possible to provide air startersfor the gasoline engines and also if necessary to provide air motorsthat will operate the propellers for a short time in case ofemergencies.

Having described the invention what we claim as new is:

1. An airship of the heavier than air type, comprising an elongatedfuselage adapted to serve as a float, the sides of the 'fuselageextending upwardly and then outwardly whereby a longitudinal recess isformed on each side, an elongated lifting propeller located in eachrecess and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the fuselage,each propeller having a blade extending along its entire length and alsoextending equal distances on opposite sides ofthe axis of rotation,means for simultaneously rotating the lifting propellers in oppositedirections, a traction propeller mounted for rotation about alongitudinally extending axis, means for rotating the tractionpropeller, and an elongated float located on the outside of each liftingpropeller.

2. An airship of the heavier than ai!` type comprising an elongatedfuselage adapted to form a float, the sides of the fuselage beingsubstantially vertical and parallel and terminating in outwardlyextending walls that form with the sides longitudinal recesses, anelongated lifting propeller located in each recess and mounted forrotation about an axis extending in the direction of the length of therecess, each propeller comprising a blade extending substantially theentire length of the recess and which extends equal distances onopposite sides of the axis of rotation,

partment, saidpropellers extending substantially the entire length ofthe compartments,

tures.

EMIL W. PASLAK. VXNE L. MULLENDORE.

means for rotating the propellers in opposite A directions at equalspeeds, a traction propeller secured to the front end of the fuselage,said traction propeller being rotatable about an axis extendinglongitudinally of the fuselage, means for turning the tractionpropeller, a wing extending transversely of the fuselage above thelatter, and an elongated float located on the outside of each liftingpropeller.

3. An airship of the heavier than air type comprising a central,elongated fuselage adapted to serve as a float, an elongated floatlocated on each side of the fuselage and spaced from the latter, a wallconnecting the 'l upper portion of the floats with the fuselage wherebyelongated compartments are formed between the fuselage and the floats,an elongated lifting propeller loeated in each com-

